Picking Sides
by Ending Theme
Summary: Just a little idea that popped into my head. Twins join the X-men, Logan is missing, what will happen to the mutants now? Author's Note and Small Chapter Up! R&R OCs...Future-ish AU.
1. Picking a Fight

**A/N: **Okay, so yeah…This is set a year after the end of the series…I've gotten a lot of inspiration to write, so forgive me for the speed in my fiction creating…but you know…the chances of me updating are better if people review! I take comments, criticism…I am a writer, so anything that helps me grow in the art is welcome. I may place an application for OCs in this story later on, but I need to at least get a couple of reviews to let me know that people are interested. - Sorry if I'm being difficult. But anyway, I don't own X-Men so please don't accuse me of having the honor.

**Picking a Fight  
**

_A new school year begins as the summer ends, but this school year was different…this was the first year where mutants had been forced into their own 'private' schools. The mutant protests and violence toward their kind had heated greatly in the previous years. Not even Xavier could have foreseen the severity of the issues placed on mutants now, more importantly the teenagers and young adults that were enrolled in schools and colleges. Rumors were being spread of mutants not being allowed into certain colleges, universities, and even some technical schools. Needless to say, things were getting far out of hand and no one seemed to be able to make a difference.  
Now, onto the matter of the 'schools' for the mutants. They were pathetic facilities, but many mutants had switched to the schools willingly in order to protect themselves from the enraged people that called them monsters, 'muties'. Some, caring, parents had resorted to home schooling their children in order to protect them. Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters was in almost a total chaos, it seemed that there had been a 'baby boom' and as more and more of these children hit puberty three out of five were mutants. But I suppose that this would be an appropriate time to begin introducing the characters to the beginning of this story, so on we go…_

Erin shrugged his backpack over his shoulder as he walked toward the subway, jet-black hair falling into his face as the autumn wind blew across the street. His ebony eyes searched the edges of the street for any sign of someone that wanted to pick a fight. Other than his eyes there was nothing odd about him that could cause people to accuse him of being a mutant, although if they did…they wouldn't b wrong. He felt his shirtsleeve being tugged, causing him to turn his head to smile at his twin sister. A smile crossed his lips as he made contact with her blazing red eyes, her short blonde and black hair spiking into her face and out behind her head. He knew that she wasn't going to open her mouth to say anything, but her voice rang out clearly in his head. '_Erin, can you wait up for me…I want to go and buy a coffee first.I'_

"Sure thing…I'll wait here." He smiled at her as she grinned and walked into a small coffee shop that was on the corner. His attention lingered on the door for a moment before he looked up at the sky. Was there really a God, and if there was, was there truly a purpose to there being mutants…or was this simply something that happened by chance? Erin had never really been one to believe in heaven or hell, but it was beginning to seem that things were turning into a hell on earth. He glanced to his sister as she walked back out of the coffee shop, with her drink in hand, smiling widely. "What did you do, Erica?"

'_Nothing…the lady just saw my eyes and it took her forever to read my order.'_She looked up at him innocently as she sipped at her coffee. His laugh was all she needed to hear before the two of them began walking again.

Erin and Erica had been around for each other ever since they were little, the fact that they were twins only helping matters. They had seen their own tough times, Erica's change into a mutant had caused Erin to worry about their relationship but he had gone through his change only a few month's after hers. After that they were inseparable. Erin had always kept a close eye on his twin, and at times the term 'protective' could have been considered an understatement. He was the only one that could understand her without her having to write her words down on a piece of paper or sign out her thoughts, at first he had thought that it was her mutant gift, but when they realized that he was the only one that could hear her he began to wonder if that was caused by them being twins. Erica had never been able to speak, the umbilical cord had wrapped around her neck and nearly killed her, causing her to not be able to speak. Granted she could make a few sounds, her laughter sounding like hushed and labored whispers, but somehow it pained him to hear her like that. After their gifts had emerged their parents hadn't really disowned them, instead they feared them. The twins had never even shown their parents what their gifts were, they had only told them, but they were still feared by their parents just as how society feared mutants in general. Luckily the twins had graduated high school a year previous to the new changes in schools 'preferences', but the students in the college classes were the same as everyone else.

As the two walked down the steps into the subway station they stuck close together, Erica's arm wrapped around Erin's tightly. People glared at them as they walked by, pushing by them harshly and some even shooting threats at them. They did their best to avoid eye contact, ignoring the people as they waited for their train but their efforts proved futile when a woman screamed bloody murder behind them. The twins turned and looked, catching sight instantly on what had caused the woman to scream. A large man, probably two feet taller than Erin was standing in the archway gripping at a woman's neck. They could hear his snarls as he yelled at her. "What did you call me you bitch!?"  
"N-nothing…nothing, I didn't call you anything…please…put me down!" The woman was crying and she screamed again when she was pushed up against the wall.  
"Oh yes you did, you called me 'mutie'…that's not nice…calling people names." He grinned as she squirmed against his grip, her tears staining his dirt-covered hands. His long blonde hair was tangled behind him, matted over his black coat.

'_We need to do something…he's gonna kill her!' _Erica tugged at Erin's sleeve again, looking up at him as she bit at her lip. Her hands were already shaking as she prepared to use her powers against him.  
"I don't think that's a good idea…look at him…he's huge!" He shook his head at her hands but sighed when she gave him her 'honor' look, he could never turn her down when he knew that she was right. Smiling at her he'd look back to the man and shout over the growing crowd. "Hey! Blondie! Pick on someone your own size!"


	2. We're the XMen

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews, I promise this chapter will be longer - I don't own X-men but I do own the twins.

We're the X-Men 

The man dropped the woman to the ground, turning and looking at the twins. His laugh was enough to make Erica take a small step back and Erin was close to doing the same until he saw a familiar mark on his neck. It was a tattoo that had become popular for mutants to get, a form of unity, although Erin and Erica had thought it stupid to brand themselves, not that they didn't have tattoos. Erin grinned at the guy, glancing back to Erica and nodding. If he was a mutant then there wasn't any problem with them using their powers, carefully. Looking the guy over, Erin ignored the crowd beginning to thin and those that were left were watching them while dialing on their cell phones. The woman that had been attacked by the man was still against the wall, looking at both the twins and the man that had just threatened her life. It probably wasn't a good idea to take the guy on, but there were two of them and only one of him, right?

Just as the man began to charge them Erica stood in front of her brother and stuck out her hands, hitting him with an unseen blast although the glass around them shattered like hit with a high pitched sound. The man stumbled back, growling. He blinked reaching up to his right ear; pulling it away he'd look at it and stare at it. His hand had blood on it; glaring back to Erica he'd snarl before charging again, faster than before. Erin pulled her out of the way, catching the man's blow instead. Both of them were sent onto the subway tracks, the man pounding Erin's head on one of the rails.

Erin looked up at him in a daze, vision blurry, although the man's growl reached his mind perfectly. "What were you sayin', kid? Pick on someone my own size?"

"Yeah…exactly what I said…" Erin looked at him and smiled slightly, although his vision still hadn't cleared yet. Grabbing the man's shirt with one hand he'd punch his stomach with the other, a loud 'boom' sounding off. The pain caused the man to grip at his stomach, finding that his shirt had been burnt away and his stomach was also burnt and bleeding. "Don't pick on humans…"

"Stupid kid!" He growled and grabbed Erin's face and slammed it against the metal track again, and again. He only stopped when a loud sound ripped at his ears, or was it his mind? It sounded like a group of people screaming, the sound of it rose in pitch until it reached to the sound of an unbearable shriek. The man screamed as he held his head, this was louder than her first attack and this was enough to cause him to back away from her dazed brother. "The hell?"

Erica glared at him; it was all she could do considering the fact that she couldn't speak. As she continued to use her powers on him she looked at her brother, seeing him still slightly dazed as he laid there on the tracks. She could only hold the guy off for so long and the sound of police sirens were growing in the background, but what other sound was growing…her eyes widened as she looked to the end of the tunnel, the train. _'Erin! Get up, the train's coming! Get up!'_

Erin sat up holding the back of his bleeding head, he looked over his shoulder and indeed the train was coming. Standing as quickly as he could his attention focused on the man again, he seemed like he only cared about making the noise Erica was torturing him with. Now he was torn, did he climb back up onto the platform and let the man fend for himself or did he help him. Looking up to his sister he'd shout over the sound of the oncoming train, "Erica, stop! We can't let him get hit by a train!"

She nodded the sounds stopping, causing the man to look down at his blood-covered hands and to look back at Eric. He growled, grinning evilly at Erica before charging at Erin again. Catching his gut with his claw like fingernails he only laughed when he heard Erin's scream. The train was closing in now. He growled when Erin punched him harder this time, throwing him against the wall of the tunnel. Erin had enough time to see the train coming at him before everything went black, his sister's voice ringing out in his mind clearly, _'Erin!'_

(Inside Cerebro)

"Eric, I've found Sabertooth…seems like he's causing problems in the Subway." Professor Xavier turned to look at his long time friend. It still felt different, having both teams in one home and on the same side, but the change was welcome they were all able to work together now. Even Magneto himself seemed to have settled down and fallen back into the ways of the school.

"The subway…I wasn't thinking that he would come back." Magneto shook his head slowly as the two of them exited cerebro. It had been a long time since they had encountered him; Sabertooth had vanished before their battle with Apocalypse and that had been over a year.

"Logan…I need you to go to the subway, your old friend is causing problems and two mutants are there with him." Xavier stopped Logan just as he was leaving the Danger Room.

"Sure, I'll take Gumbo with me just in case." Logan huffed slightly, grabbing Gambit by the back of his trench coat. He still didn't like how Gambit was always following Rogue around like a lost puppy. "Stop flirting, bub…we got work to do."

"Bu-fine…good bye, mon chere." He waved dramatically, causing Rogue to blush and laugh slightly as the two of them left the mansion to go after Sabertooth.

(Subway)

Erica jumped down onto the tracks, ignoring the screaming people and the smoke coming from the now stopped subway train. She'd shake her fallen brother's shoulders, looking up at the man covered in metal that had stopped the train. He was now looking at her, concerned. She frantically began signing her words but when all she got was confusion from the man she fumbled for her mini-notebook and paper. Writing her words down quickly she'd hand him the notebook before trying to wake up her brother, the blood on his shirt staining her hands. The 'metal man' as Erica had so lightly called him on the paper looked her over before touching her shoulder. "It will be fine, here."

He picked up her brother carefully; looking around for Sabertooth but when he saw nothing he looked down at her. "My name is Colossus…I know where we can take him."

"Tin man?! What are you doin' here?" Gambit jumped down onto the tracks and looked them over before turning to look at Wolverine. "Gambit'll take dem back, you go get the kitty, non?"

"Sure thing bub…" following after Sabertooth's scent he'd head off down the tunnel and leave Gambit with the others.

Gambit smiled at Colossus and then to Erica, placing a hand on her shoulder he'd nod when she looked at him. Climbing up onto the platform first he'd take Erin's limp body from Colossus and smile as the big Russian helped the girl up onto the platform. Carrying Erin's body, his arm positioned over his shoulder, Gambit would cut through the crowd news crews already arriving. Colossus wrapped his arm protectively around Erica as they moved through the crowd; soon reaching the jeep that Gambit and Wolverine had driven there. Climbing into the front with Gambit he'd watch Erica out of the corner of his eye while she cradled her brother against him. He smiled slightly when he saw Erin's eyes open slightly, Erica seemed to calm down slightly, but what surprised him was when Erin spoke to her. "Gambit and…Colossus, huh? Guess…we picked a bad fight…"

'_I didn't know that he was that strong…I'm sorry…'_ She bit her lip as she looked at him, he looked horrible and she had been the one who told him that they should have fought him.

"Its okay…you we're right, he was…he was gonna' kill her…" Erin smiled up at her before closing his eyes and resting against her. "Don't worry…I'll be okay…"

Erica nodded, watching her brother as he lost consciousness again against her. Catching a glance at Colossus out of the corner of her eye she'd look at him fully and smile. She did a simple sign for thank you and luckily he understood it.

"Your welcome." Colossus nodded before looking at her again. The metal covering his skin disappearing he'd look to Gambit, who was in turn looking at him curiously. "You and your brother…you picked the wrong mutant to fight."

She nodded, writing on the paper and handing it to him. 'He looked like he was going to kill a woman for calling him a mutie.'

"That sounds like him…" he sighed and handed her paper back to her. It was odd, he had never met a mutant before that was unable to speak but with the next generation of mutants rising who knew what kind of mutants there were.

They continued back to the institute in silence, taking back roads and off road ways to avoid being followed by anyone. Once they were there Colossus took Erin and headed for the infirmary while Gambit and Erica followed, but the professor stopped them. "Thank you Gambit…I need to speak with Erica before she goes in to see her brother."

"Sure ting, Professor." Gambit smiled at Erica before wandering off to find his Rogue.

"Erica…I'm surprised that you and your brother haven't come to this school earlier, most mutants know of us." He rolled his chair alongside her as they moved through the school.

'_Erin and I talked about it, we started college here last semester…but we didn't know what we were supposed to do, I mean…with how things are for mutants we didn't know what was best…but he knows that I've always wanted to learn how to control my powers.' _ She looked down at the professor, surprised to see him nodding, so he could understand her.

"Sadly…no…I can't understand you the way that your brother can…I'm only reading your mind, lets just say that I'm saving trees." He smiled at her as she laughed silently. Her mind was jumbled, but with the memories that he gathered from her he understood why she felt the way that she did. "You and your brother are more than welcome to stay here, for as long as you like."

'_Thanks…I'll talk things over with Erin…hopefully he'll change his mind once he sees how big this place is.'_ She smiled at the professor again and waved at Colossus as they entered the infirmary. Did he blush when he saw her or was she seeing things?

"Colossus, could you keep an eye on Erica and show her to a room as soon as Hank has given her brother an all clear?" The professor smiled when the tall man nodded, turning his wheel chair around to leave he'd nod to Hank and Erica before he left.

(Subway Tunnel)

Logan sniffed around, the scent of Sabertooth had disappeared a few hundred yards ago, but he wasn't going to give up that easily, he still had a big bone to pick with that guy. He had left Gambit over two hours ago and he was beginning to wonder how those kids were doing after taking on the big fur ball. Just as he was about to turn around something caught his attention, crying? Had he stumbled across the Morlocks and not realized it, no, he hadn't recognized anyone's scents. Following the sound of the crying he'd reach a dead end of the subway tunnel, but he found the reason for the crying. A young teenage girl was sitting on the ground with her knees drawn to her chest, although he couldn't see her face he could hear her tears all too well. Maybe working at the institute had caused him to go soft, but he approached her anyway although once he was close enough to her he was surprised when she laughed and threw something on the ground causing him to start gagging and coughing. Before he knew what had happened he was on the ground and everything was becoming fuzzy, everything went black. The last thing that he heard was, 'welcome back Weapon X'.

**A/N: **So what do you think? I hope not everyone is mad for the way that I'm making Piotr act around Erica, I think its cute. Oh yeah, Kitty and Lance are together in this fic…sorry if that ticks some people off.


	3. Just a little crush

**A/N: Sorry its taken so long for an update, but here it is! -kills writer's block- WUAHAHA!  
I don't own X-men.  
**

**Maybe just a little crush  
**

Poitr looked down at Erica, she had her hands stuffed into her jean pockets, her hair spiking down to cover parts of her face but he could still tell that she was worried. Hank had been working behind that glass door for nearly an hour patching up her brother and he hadn't turned around once to give them thumbs up or down. The only information they had on Erin was the bloody shirt that had been placed into a washbasin while the blue mutant worked. Every time that Hank made a move to change his working position Erica's attention would leave the shirt but when he never turned her gaze went right back to that shirt. Deciding that it wasn't good for Erica to be worrying herself over her brother he'd place his hand on her shoulder carefully, hoping not to scare her. "He will be fine…Mister McCoy knows what he's doing. He'll take care of him."

She looked up at him, leaning into his grip slightly. She wanted to talk to him, she wanted to talk to everyone, but she hadn't ever been able to do that. Maybe with enough training she'd be able to learn to use her powers and speak to people that way. Reaching into her back pocket she'd pull out her notebook and write, handing the notebook to him once she was done. 'He's always protected me…I just hate seeing him like this.'

"How about I show you around…he wouldn't want you worrying about him like this." He smiled down at her, handing him back her voice. He watched her write and caught the blush appear on her cheeks when her stomach made a rumbling sound. "We could also get you something to eat."

She tried to fight away the blush, writing quickly she'd give him the notebook once more as she faced him and smiled up at him shyly. 'I guess so, food sounds nice.'

"To the kitchen it is then." He smiled at her before poking his head through the door to tell the Beast where they were going. "I'm taking his sister to get something to eat."

"Sounds like a good idea…I'll come and get you as soon as I know something, but it looks like he's going to be just fine." He turned and smiled slightly at the Russian, nodding to Erica before he went back to work.

"Mister McCoy says that your brother will be fine." He smiled down at her and led her out of the infirmary. They passed a few people, some staring at Erica wondering who she was but her attention was drawn fully on the tall man speaking on the rooms that they passed. Once they reached the kitchen he pointed to a bar stool and rolled up the sleeves of the sweater that he was wearing. "What would you like for a home cooked meal?"

She smiled and wrote on the paper again. 'You don't have to make me anything, I can live with a microwave burrito.'

"Well that certainly won't do…how about _we_ make something that your brother will be able to enjoy once he's awake?" He smiled at her, watching her write quickly before handing him it again. 'I guess if you're dead set on cooking…what do you think would be good?'

"Hmm…something light on the stomach, but filling…what about beef stew?" He practically grinned from ear to ear when she nodded and smiled at him. 

While the two of them were cooking away in the kitchen Gambit leaned against the doorway and smiled at the two of them before glancing down at Rogue. She seemed to be enjoying the scene as well, after all it wasn't often that Colossus smiled like that before being crushed by the flirtatious antics of Kitty. Speaking of the hyper girl, she walked into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water, but stopped short when she saw Piotr standing behind Erica, showing her how to properly chop the vegetables. She had never thought that he would have been this open with anyone, but when again she had turned him down to go back out with Lance. Grabbing her water she'd smile when the two of them turned around, after hearing the refrigerator close. "Like hi…I'm Kitty, are you new here?"

Erica waved at her, smiling at Colossus in relief when he introduced her, "this is Erica, she and her brother might be staying here."

"Oh." Kitty gave him a confused look before noting a few simple hand gestures that Erica was giving her. "You…can't…throat? Oh! Speak…oh okay. Well, its nice to meet you!" Colossus couldn't help but smile as she left the kitchen through a wall.

(Unknown Area)

Wolverine looked around, noting that his mobility was limited thanks to the restraints holding him to the cold metal table. He could see x-rays of himself hanging on the wall to his left; and on the right was nothing more than a large door and a large tube that seemed like it could hold two of him at least. Just where the hell was he? He thought over what he could remember before waking up there, 'welcome back Wolverine.' Welcome back, where? He snarled when someone walked into the room, surprised to see that a female scientist was standing there smiling. "Good, you're awake…time to begin…"

(Infirmary)  
Erin opened his eyes slowly, the bright lights of the room giving him a headache. Once his thoughts hit him he sat up quickly, causing a pain to rip across his abdomen. Where was he, was he in the hospital, where was Erica, did the hairy guy hurt her? He looked around, holding his stomach. Erin gave a confused look when a man with blue fur over his body approached him. "Who are you…where's my sister?"

"Calm down…your stitches will rip out…my name is Hank McCoy, you're at Xavier's Institute for Higher Learning, your sister is upstairs with one of the men that rescued you, she's fine…they're making you something to eat if I heard them correctly." He smiled at Erin, "I could go and tell her that you're awake, if you want."

"Please?" Erin was still trying to add everything together by the time that Erica was beside him holding his hand.

'_Erin, are you okay, how do you feel?'_ Her voice rang out through his mind, causing him to blink twice and look at her, a smile quickly coming to his lips.  
"I'm fine…no need to worry about me, what about you?" He ignored the confused look that Hank was giving them.  
'_I'm okay…Piotr and I made some beef stew for you…do you feel like eating?'_ The smile on her face was something that he hadn't seen in a while, it was enough to make him pull her into a small hug. '_Erin, what's wrong?'_

"Nothing…beef stew sounds great!" He pulled away from his sister, smiling as his stomach growled. He loved seeing her smile like that, although he was confused if he should be worried about the smile also. Was it safe to live with a large group of mutants, epically considering the problems that mutants had been suffering from? He almost laughed when Erica set a bowl of stew in front of him; the look on her face was priceless. 

'_It shouldn't taste too bad…Piotr helped a lot…I barely even touched it.'_

"I'm sure it'll taste fine." He watched her smile, taking a quick spoonful. She was right, it didn't taste bad at all. Once he had taken the first bite, he realized how hungry he was, and that was enough motive for him to quickly finish off the bowl. Once he was finished he then took some time to look around the room, besides his sister there were only two others in the room, one being the blue man that had nearly scared him to death and then there was the tall man that seemed to be paying very close attention to his sister. "Is that Piotr?"

'_Yeah…he was the one that stopped the train from hitting you.' _She nodded and looked back to Piotr smiling. It wasn't too hard to notice the blush that crossed Piotr's cheeks, and it definitely wasn't too hard to see the blush on Erica's cheeks when she turned to look back to her brother. _'He's really nice.'_


	4. Slight AN and a Small Chapter

**A/N:**This is just basically a really big author's note, so forgive me. I'm beginning to make a comic of this story, and I plan to post it up on deviantart, and I've already got the concepts done for Erica, the link will be listed below.  
If anyone is interested in RPing with me my SN on AOL is 'Etched Memories', and also if anyone is interested in giving me some characters to use in the story you can E-mail them to me on AOL at . All I need is a name, age, physical description, power description, personality type, style, and if you'd like to give an opening statement of how they came to the mansion (or wherever they are) then feel free… (you've got a better chance if you put more effort in your characters). Um…lets see…I believe that's it…Oh yeah! Please don't leave your character in a review, as much as I love them…I don't want characters listed there, so thanks!

This is the link for Erica,

http/silentlydying4you./art/Erica-Concepts-80474111

And if you'd like to look at the rest of my stuff then feel free…

http/silentlydying4you.

I plan on making concepts for the rest of the characters, even the ones owned by Marvel…since I have no life and I spend my time taking care of my grandmother. So yeah, the more reviews I get the more motivated I get too…so hehe! –hint, hint, wink, wink, nudge, nudge-

(Just a short little snippit)  
(Infirmary)  
Erin looked around the room, Hank had told him that he should spend at least one night in the Infirmary just in case there were any complications, so he had followed the orders. He was still worried about where Erica would be sleeping, he wasn't used to being separated from her, even if they were in the same building, they had always shared a room. But she was a big girl now, she could take care of herself, and she was more than likely already sick of him worrying over her like some over-protective parent, but what else was he supposed to do, he was the only one that could truly understand her. He sighed, closing his eyes and trying to go to sleep, if she needed him she'd talk to him…wouldn't she?

(Rogue/Kitty/Erica's Room)  
Rogue had been open to the new girl coming into the room, her style and attitude catching her eye quickly, but she was worried about how Kitty was going to take the newcomer…after all she had seen Erica and Piotr together in the kitchen, but she was with Lance, so she technically couldn't say anything. She watched Erica carefully, she was trying to understand her and she was doing a pretty good job, the sign language class that she had taken as an elective in high school paying off greatly. She nodded in the right times, laughing when Erica got flustered when Kitty asked a stupid question, and smiled when Erica blushed madly when Kitty asked her if she thought that Piotr was cute. "Leave her alone, Kitty…she's new, we can at least give her a break until tomorrow."  
"All I asked was if she, like, thought that he was cute, like, it's a simple question." She grinned at Rogue and then leaned forward in Erica's direction. "Well?"  
Erica bit at her lower lip before nodding slowly, earning laughter from Kitty and Rogue both. They both stated that it was obvious and then Kitty began to go on about how sweet he was and all that nonsense, but Erica seemed more focused on Rogue. She had been signing behind Kitty's back that they had been a couple for a few weeks until Kitty broke it off to go back with Lance. Erica nodded before the girls jumped when Storm popped her head into the room.  
"Make sure to get some rest Erica, you seem to have had a very stressful day, along with your brother." Erica in turn gave her a shy smile and a nod before Storm closed the door. It seemed like things were going to be all right, and Erica finally felt like she was at home.

**A/N: **I know its short, I'm SORRY! Just got home from hanging out with friends, so yeah I'm un uber ADD mode, so here you have it!


	5. What Have You Done

**A/N: **I am so sorry that it has taken me so long to update. My first computer broke and the second one was stolen, isn't life great? I am hoping to update more in the future since I have a 'new' computer and I am a stay-at-home mother now. Don't think that I have a ton of free time, but I do have some, so there will be UPDATES! So everyone can do a happy dance, because I am.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything created by Marvel, but someday when I build a time machine I just might! WUAHAHAHAHA! Until then I will amuse myself with fan-fictions and my x-men ring tone.

**What Have You Done**

Erica walked through the hallways of the mansion, listening to the different sounds. The wooden floor creaking slightly under the pressure of her feet, the heat kicking on to beat the cool night air, and somewhere there were people talking. She followed the voices, although the closer she got the less she could understand what was being said. It felt like she wasn't supposed to know what was being said, the meaning of the words becoming jumbled in her head.

Once she reached the source of the voices she stood still in shock. She was back at the subway, the train still crumpled and her brother's blood on the tracks, but she was alone. The voices were gone and she was left with the most painful sense of loneliness she had ever felt. The silence dug at her mind, she couldn't even hear herself breathing. She quickly turned to run back in the direction she had come but instead she turned to look into the face of her twin. Erin stood there smiling at her but there was something wrong with him, his eyes were black. Not like the normal black she was used to. No, his eyes seemed like they were an abyss, void of any meaning or emotion. Now his smile seemed scary instead of the comforting smile she always loved to see. She tried to communicate with him, but she couldn't even seem to form words in her own mind.

She reached forward, her fingers grabbing at his shirt desperately as she tried to get him to talk to her. He only laughed. It sounded sick and twisted, his breath hollow. When she tried to turn away from him he finally touched her. The fingers of his right hand digging into her shoulder as he held her in place and his laughter continuing to eat at her. A sharp pain shot through her chest and when she looked down to locate the cause she saw her Erin's arm going through her skin, her blood seeping out onto his skin. Everything started to spin, his laughter beginning to mix with the voices. She felt like she was falling, she was dying. Just before everything went black she heard a voice speak out above all of the rest, '_come on Erica!_'

She woke up suddenly, sitting up in her bed, a raspy sound traveling through her lips in what should have been a scream. Her eyes opened, searching for Erin as she panicked. It was still a nightmare, it had to be. Someone was leaning over her, it took her a moment realize that it was Rogue. She was saying something to her, but her ears were still ringing from the voices in the dream. Slowly her voice began to drown out the jumbled voices.

"Erica, can you understand what I am saying?" Her voice was calm, although his eyes held the panic that was still embedded into her mind. All she could do was nod to her, but it seemed to be enough to comfort her.

"Oh my God, is she awake?" Kitty's voice floated in, although she couldn't see her.

"Yeah, go and get Erin." Rogue looked over his shoulder and nodded to Kitty, but stopped when Erica grabbed her arm, shaking her head quickly. "What's wrong?"

She quickly began signing to Rogue, although it took her a moment to catch on. "Why don't you want Erin in here?"

'_He tried to kill me.'_ Erica watched Rogue's face go from worried to puzzled in a mere fraction of seconds.

"What's going on?" Kitty finally walked into Erica's view.

"No one was in here, me and Kitty woke up when we heard you gasping for air." She looked away from her and back to her friend. "She said that Erin tried to kill her."

"She had a dream." Professor Xavier rolled into the bedroom and came to a stop beside Erica's bed. He reached over and placed a hand on her arm with a grim look in his eyes. "Erica, have you ever had dreams like this in the past."

'_No. Or at least not with Erin in them. I dreamed one time that our father attacked us, and then it happened_.' She didn't sign that time, instead allowing the Professor to enter her mind for communication. '_Why would I dream that Erin would do that?'_

"I don't know, perhaps it was simply caused by the stress that the two of you had gone through." He frowned though, something in his mind seeming to slip through his well guarded demeanor. "The main thought that troubles me is that your breathing was so labored and you were in so much pain, now it seems like nothing ever happened."

'_What would cause that?'_ She knew the Professor was thinking over everything, knowing what she had experienced was no nightmare.

Before anyone could say anything else the alarms in the mansion began to go off. Everyone that hadn't been awoken by the commotion in the room was up in a matter of seconds. Some of the younger teens were panicking, trying to find out what was going on, while the adults of the mansion were attempting to keep calm and find the intruders that had sneaked onto the property of the building. Rogue and Kitty had changed into their suits quickly, and had even gotten Erica to put on one of Rogue's older suits. She might not have been trained or even accepted into the X-Men, but the two girls had blatantly stated that it was better to be safe rather than sorry.

All of the X-Men gathered in the foyer of the mansion, splitting into smaller teams to search the premises for the intruders. Erica was placed with Rogue and Nightcrawler, they were told to search the northern grounds of the premises. The security system of the mansion had said that all areas were being breached, although they hadn't seen the slightest bit of movement. The wind was nonexistent, Storm's work more than likely to make searching easier. Everything seemed to have an eerie silence to it, their footsteps seeming to not even make the slightest sound. Rogue stayed close to Erica, keeping a very close eye on her.

The three mutants stopped and turned to face the mansion when one of the walls exploded. They were able to make out three figures, one of them seeming to be carrying something. It looked like they were carrying a limp body. They all began to run in the direction of the three silhouettes but something made them stop where they stood. Nightcrawler tried to teleport away but he simply reappeared right where he had been. The figures in the flames stayed still for a slight moment but in a blink of an eye they were gone. In that single instant the three mutants were free of whatever had been holding them in place. They fell to the ground startled, all of them looking at one another. Erica could tell that by the looks on their faces they had no idea of what was going on, and that thought scared her. Rogue looked over to her and frowned, "we should get back with the others and figure out whats goin' on."

"Da, lets go." Nightcrawler stood and walked over to both of the girls and teleported them back to the foyer of the mansion.

Storm, Hank, and Scott were all missing. Erica had guessed that they were putting out of the flames caused by the explosion, her thoughts confirmed when Professor Xavier told everyone where they were. He had made a small speech consisted of explaining that the attack was more than likely caused by the acolytes and that he would be searching for the mutants involved with cerebro. Although Erica seemed to be hearing something different than anyone else, she wasn't even hearing the professor. There were jumbled voices in her head, just the same as the ones that she had heard in her dream. Some were laughing, others were crying, and there were a few that seemed to be screaming hysterically. She heard Logan screaming in pain and then she heard Erin. He was laughing just as he had been in her dream, sending chills up her spine.

Suddenly everything started to go black. She felt Poitr behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders. The professor was in front of her speaking to her, although she could only hear her brother's laughing. Her throat felt like it was on fire, her body reacted to the irritation and made her begin to cough uncontrollably. Her chest tightened, causing her to wheeze in between coughs. All the while the voices continued with the laughing. Just when she thought that she couldn't take anymore she tried to scream for the voices to stop, and the thing that scared her the most was that she did.

**A/N: **Wuahahahaha! Cliff-hanger! Let me know how I did, okay?


End file.
